Helmets???

[urflyingme?!]

Ok, I know I may sound like an idiot here, but I gotta know.
Do any of you Ag guys or Aerobatic types wear helmets? I had someone recently reccomend to me to get a helmet. If so, do you guys just wear like a surplus Military style one?
THX

 

[DC4boy]

Ag flying requires a helmet, I got mine on ebay. An HGU 55/p will run you about 800-900 bucks with comm, ebay about $300.

Brand new helmets at Flight Suits LTD

 

[FN FAL]

Helmets or ant eaters...this is the question?

 

[urflyingme?!]

So people do wear the Mil style helmets, eh? Just wondering about looking like the kid who wore his flight suit to preflight!

 

[Ill Mitch]

When I flew ag, I had an HGU 26...or something like that. It got pretty scratched up the first season, so don't hold any sentimental attatchment to it.

 

[urflyingme?!]

Do you Ag guys use the fighter style because of the compatability with O2 systems?

If you didn't need O2 would you still use them?

Thx again

 

[avbug]

Nobody wears oxygen or forced ventillation when flying ag. A few, very, very few, might occasionally use a respirator when flying, but I've never seen it. Especially in the summer, the heat can really build up under a greenhouse canopy (I've measured 180 degrees in august)...throwing on a respirator is not only foolish, but dangerous.

I wear a HGU-55/P, and had mine done in Kevlar. It's a personal option. The 55/P is probably the lightest headset out there. A lot of guys I know use the heavier SPH-4 or SPH-5 helicopter helmet. These tend to circulate more air and are more open, though they stick out far enough on the sides that I find it's too easy to keep banging the canopy just by turning your head.

The idea behind the helmet is obviously protection in the event of studden stoppage somewhere, but more than that, it's inflight protection because my head gets bounced off the canopy not too infrequently...get some moderateor severe turbulence, and everything gets very mobile in the cockpit, including the pilot.

FlightSuits (I forget what their new name is) makes good products, but you can also go with other firms such as Government Sales and get better prices. You can go surplus, but I do not recommend that with a helmet. Nomex gear, fine, but I strongly recommend a new helmet.

A new helmet can be made to order and should be. For this type of work, a new helmet should be a milspec helmet and definitely not a motorcycle type helmet. I recommend avoiding traditional fiberglass helmets; get kevlar. New helmets can be had in standard sizes, but I recommend a custom fit helmet, especially if you'll be wearing it very much. I also recommend going with a temper foam that adjusts to your head, rather than velcro or foil spacers inside

You'll have a choice between the "elephant ears" style earcups, or the traditional hard david clark style earcups, I recommend the david clark style, but go with oregon aero ear seals. Weather you're flying radial or turbine, they still provide better noise protection. You can get ANR in the avionic portion of the helmet either way, but it will work better if you don't use the elephant ears. The elephant ear installation is more comfortable, some say, but with the use of the oregon aero ear seals, I don't know that I'd agree.

Buying a new custom helmet also allows you to fit your choice of avionics, order your choice of visor, etc. All that can be had after market, too. However, once you've had one or two hot days in the cockpit, you'll come to appreciate why a one-owner helmet is the way to go, especially after you've been sweating into it like a stuck pig.

Get the longer plug in cord, or you'll only need an extention adapter...ask for at least six feet of cord, and you'll be doing well.

One problem with the HGU-55/P helmet, if it can be called a problem, is the exterior visor. The older HGU-26 and 33 helmets used an external visor cover...the 33 is the type of helmet you see in movies like "top gun." This uses a visor inside a plastic housing, sometimes two different visors for night and day. The assembly is bulkier and heavier. The 55 uses a visor that's attached with elastic straps, and works well, but isn't covered or protected by a housing. It can get scratched. The soloution is to keep a leather or vinyl cover velcroed over it when not in use...which works.

I keep my cover in my left flightsuit leg pocket; it comes off when I put on the helmet in the cockpit, and goes back on when I take the helmet off at the end of the flight. However, it's still possible to scratch up the visor (which costs about fifty bucks) when stick my head out of the cockpit during taxi, or even when looking around while maneuvering, if the visor is pushed up on top of the helmet.

I can't wear glasses comfortably with the helmet on (about the only glasses you can wear with them are military straight bayonet glasses, and in a hot cockpit, it's hard to mop your eyes or face with those pinned on), so I usually wear the visor down, and I use a dark grey visor in lieu of sun glasses. It helps increase contrast, which can really be important with fine obstacles such as powerlines, standpipes, trees, snags, etc. It's also really critical when working in a smokey environment, close to rocks, etc, where depth perception is important.

If you need economy, you can get helmets from various sales agents such as Government Sales or Flight Suits Unlimited as a special. Sometimes racing teams or special units over order on the helmets, and they have extra at a discount price. The same at flight suits can be said for the nomex. A new flight suit runs about two hundred twenty dollars, and you can get them for a hundred or less, if you want new, on special. These are usually specially made items made to order, often in standard sizes in special colors. If you want an indian orange flight suit, like military Test used to wear...FSU is about the only place to go any more.

One company switched to Indian Orange a few years ago after losing a pilot. He died, but died late in the game when he should have been found. He was wearing sage green nomex, and searchers didn't locate him until it was too late. The company immediately switched to indian orange. Everybody looked like they were going hunting, but it's a lot more visible, and a lot safer, even on a busy ramp with lots of props turning.

For what purpose are you seeking a helmet? That will also influence what you buy. If I were seeking another helmet right now, I would probably go for a HGU-84.

 

[urflyingme?!]

I'm not currently doing any Ag flying, but may in a season or two.(Really interests me, but I need some tailwheel/ just plain more experience) I'm looking into Banners right now, as well as aerobatics(as much as I can afford by begging borrowing/stealing).

I chatted with a guy who'd ben there/ done tha a few days ago and he said to buy a helmet. Since he's been doing it 20 yrs when I was still in liquid form, I figured he knows what he is talking about.

Any thought?

 

[moving2vegas]

here ya go...

http://www.flightsuits.com/

click on helmets

 

[avbug]

A helmet is a fairly substantial investment if you're not ready to go to work. You might want to wait. A decent helmet will cost you eight hundred bucks or so.

Before you go to work, you need to be qualified with respect to state licenses and so forth, and that will take some time. You probably won't do much, if any actual flying your first season, possibly first few seasons, you have time yet to get a helmet.

Word of warning on the helmet; don't show up with lightening bolts and checkerboards painted all over it. That's a sure turn off for an employer. I've seen guys spend hundreds to get their helmet painted up in their favorite walter mitty colors, or covered in reflective tape in some squadron colors...it's an agricultrual job, not TDY to fallon naval air station.

 

[urflyingme?!]

haha.

The helmets I've seen are the one's you have been describing. I am at least 1-3 years away from Ag flying, IF I go that route. I'm just curious about the aerobatic stuff, but it doesn't seem that anyone wears one.

And about the colors. You mean owners don't want Maverick flying their equipment!?

 

[low-n-slow]

If you are going to pursue ag flying I'd certainly suggest buying a quality helmet, but as avbug mentions above I wouldn't invest several hundred dollars on a flight helmet untill you need it.

Although I know pilots that fly ag without a helmet you'll never see me in an ag plane without wearing one, several years ago I wrecked an AT-502 that resulted in a very hard upside down hit. I had a nasty black eye, bumps, bruises and stitches and a deep chip on the top of my HGU-55. The kevlar did it's job and I'm still alive, if I weren't wearing the helmet I do believe I wouldn't have faired so well.

My current helmet is a kevlar HGU-55 with a hard plastic HGU-33 visor cover frrom FlightSuits.

 

[avbug]

I didn't know that was an option. I'll look into the visor cover. Those visors get expensive to keep replacing.

 

[bugchaser]

Hey Avbug, what's wrong with the lightning bolts? I think mine look pretty cool. Even though they are just about completely worn off from all the love taps that you get doing this type of work. Good advise from the previous posts. I personally use an HGU 33 with an ANR setup from headsets inc. in Amarillo TX. The ANR is the best money that I have spent in a long time. Makes a long day a little bit shorter. Makes it easier to hear the XM radio or cell phone.

 

[urflyingme?!]

Ahh, you answered a question before I asked it. Headsets inc...
How do you like it?

 

[bugchaser]

It's a great setup. They sent me the parts and I put it in myself. It does require that you have the hard earcups in your helmet. They can provide those too if you need them. The system works great and I would not want to fly without it. In fact I put the same system in my backup helmet as well. It really takes care of the low frequency noise in the pistons and works so well in the turbines that you can actually hear your cell phone ring. I get about a week out of a good 9v battery or you can hard wire it into the airplane with an optional kit. If I remember right the price is about 180 bucks and they will install it for about 50. The folks there are first rate and will answer any questions that you have. Check them out at headsetsinc.com

 

[low-n-slow]

I didn't know that was an option. I'll look into the visor cover. Those visors get expensive to keep replacing.

Avbug, I didn't know it was an option until I requested it. The only negative is that as you know the HGU-55 only comes in the grey as a standard color while the plastic visor cover from the -33 is white, so therefore I forked over another 90 bucks to have them painted the same color, AT yellow in my instance.

The cover sure adds to the life (double) of the visor, for me anyway.

 

[urflyingme?!]

Just out of curiosity, where did you guys get your tailwheel time before going ag?

 

[RightPedal]

Just out of curiosity, where did you guys get your tailwheel time before going ag?

I got my endorsement in a Cessna 170 at one of the flight schools at North Perry (HWO) in Miami. I moved to Gainesville, FL and rented a Citabria at Keystone (42J). I purchased an M4-220 Maule and flew it six years logging close to 1000 hours. My Brother had access to a Cessna Agtruck that I got to log 120 hours in for my initial spraying experence.

 

[avbug]

I learned to fly in a J3 cub and flew almost nothing but conventional gear and float. Mostly tailwheel. I flew my first five years commercially without an instrument rating and mostly in conventional gear airplanes before earning a flight instructor certificate, and starting to instruct in aircraft with a nosewheel.

My helmet is yellow, too. Shame, because the airplane was the same color, and we just repainted it white with red trim due to OAS/OAM and BLM requirements.

A concession to boredom, I do confess to a couple of stickers. I've got the aircraft number on the back of the helmet, a little decal from pep boys of a boy urinating on a fire, and a little sticker that says, "crashing sucks," that I got at a skate shop.

 

[avbug]

Huh? Care to explain that, mate?